Do you miss me yet?

missions trip updates + remote blogging

If you’re reading this, it means that I am battling it out with the mosquitoes on an island in Florida, for the sake of training for a missions trip. “Get dirty for God!”

No, thank you!

I will be away from the computer until August 14, but I have a plan to keep this blog at least a little active. With the help of my mom and the postal service as mediums, I will write short updates as I have time. I’ve also written a couple recipes and reviews that are not time-sensitive; these will appear on scheduled days. Sound good?

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some fun stuff. (hello summer.)

I know, with a title like that, you’re just dying to read this post. However, I’m deliberately deviating from my first-born tendencies and breaking all the blogging rules! Well… maybe not all of them. But it’s definitely a boring title, a no-no for blog writing. Maybe if this was my personal journal, then that would be acceptable. But, I must remember that I am acceptable no matter how stupid the post title. (Notice the rambling? I must be really losing it!)

So. I’ve been posting a lot about food and recipes and such – ready for a break?

graduation.

Don’t you love it when you can’t remember what day of the month it is? I’ve been like that since Tuesday (June 8 ) – I took my Biology exam and I was out!

 My teacher doing last-minute review before the Biology exam.My school bus – I went home as a 9th-grader for the last time!My friend and track buddy Jake and I before my exam – the last day.

The class of 2010 graduated on Saturday (June 12), but I am not the class of 2010. I am the class of 2013—I have my sophomore year of high school to look forward to now. I survived a quarter of high school! Praise the Lord!!

Peter found opossum.

It’s just a baby. (Catch the wordplay in the title?)

left to right: my brothers Ray + Peter

Calvin’s last baseball game

The second oldest of the family, my brother Calvin, bunts the ball
in a Waxhaw Athletic Association game – good hit!

friends.

I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but blogging since school got out—I’ve had so much inspiration—but I’ve been enjoying life, too. This past Friday I went to an amazing cook-out (yes, I ate a hot dog, and I liked it!) with almost all of my best friends. Imagine a bunch of teenagers running around playing ping-pong, badminton, pool, Frisbee, Ninja, and our version of zombie tag (I won the first game!), as well as torching marshmallows, eating and talking for four hours. That is what I call a good night.

Now you have been introduced to some of my family and friends!

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tomato love.

Sorry to all tomato-haters out there, but today’s post is all about…

Farmer’s Market tomatoes.

Today was market day! Like many Saturdays before, I visited my beloved Waxhaw Farmer’s Market. The Specialty Farmer was selling heirloom tomatoes; I picked up 3 purple Cherokees. Two of them were bursting their seams when I got home, so they were promptly consumed. These tomatoes are sweet with a deep, intense flavor – plus, interesting to look at.

colors of summer. (interlude)

 red and white onions, cucumbers, yellow zucchini, purple Cherokee tomatoes, zucchini

my tomatoes.

I’ve been growing a tomato plant since March. It was already quite large when I got it, and a  couple days ago I picked the first red one. I let it sit on the windowsill for a couple days until it was fully ripe and red.This is the bottom of the tomato—not exactly what you see on, uh, regular tomatoes. Does anyone know the cause of this?

I just cut off the brown, tough part; the rest of the tomato was DELICIOUS. It tastes like summer – so much flavor in every juicy bite. I couldn’t believe how amazing this tomato is, compared to year-round grocery store variety. This is, to me, a real tomato!

PS – There’s a new blogger in town! (She’s really actually in my town! How cool is that?) Read about her own tomato-growing adventure, as well as her chronicle of frugality and creativity this summer, at The Low Ryder.

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learning through blogging.

Besides the actual content on the blogs, there’s a lot that I’ve learned on my foray into the world of blogging and online interactions. (I started Unusual Passions in January 2010.)

business.

I’ve corresponding with companies regarding free products to review. I wonder if they knew I was 15? (If you are one of those marketing coordinators I linked to a review, thanks for the life lessons! )

Thank you to Audrey for helping me get started with product reviews!

I’ve decided not to attempt to make money from the blog for now. That’s really not an intent I could passionately write with. However, I really enjoy reviewing free products, as well as restaurants and services I do pay for.

websites.

It took me a while to figure out themes, widgets, sidebars, posts—there’s a lot that goes into a webpage; more than I thought! I also learned about HTML when I was making my sidebar boxes. (Can you tell I’ve spruced things up a little? I added a picture of myself!)

legal.

When I went to write my disclosures and disclaimers, I read a lot of legal jargon and junk. It’s all now cemented in my mind as a way to either reinforce common sense or replace common sense. You decide.

I read a couple sites to find help with writing disclaimers.

personal.

I’ve learned how to better communicate through the medium of my blog posts as well as dozens of comment boxes scattered around the web. I’ve learned how to write trivial words just to let people know I’ve read their tips and thoughts and that I care. I’ve learned how to network a little more, even in this age of social networking.

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communication.

The underlying themes of each of these areas: effective communication with fellow man. It’s as simple as that. Praise the Lord.

What have you learned through blogging? (Or reading blogs?)

Here’s some more HTML for you:

<img style="border-right-width: 0px !important; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top-width: 0px !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-left-width: 0px !important" title="signature" border="0" alt="signature" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85807/unusualpassions/41f86b53da0ba8ab01
543136ccd2053e.png" width="103" height="46" />

OOPS! I meant…

people like me + Sweet Potato Oatcake recipe

humans. check.
teenagers. check.
[here is where it gets interesting]
bloggers. check.
health bloggers. quadruple check!

Can you believe there are other teenagers out there with like-minded ”food philosophies” and ideas about health? How exciting!

I recently stumbled across these wonderful bloggers:

• Teenage Health Freak! – the name sums it up
• Courtney and Whitney @ Teens Eat – a couple of health-minded twins
• Kelsey @ Clean Teen Kelsey – “musings of a 16-year-old Clean Eater/actress/ballroom dancer/singer/homeschooler”
• Daniel @ One Step Closer – an impassioned student studying to be a dietitian; all he wants to do is help people become healthier, both physically and emotionally! Love it, Daniel!

I’ve been shy about sharing my blog, and thus myself, with these guys. It’s different; I’m undoubtedly on their level, unlike when I write to adults!

If you see this, just know that I would love to get to know you all better! I don’t have my ideas about food and everything obviously written, mostly because I’m still wrestling and developing everything that I believe. I easily fall into judging people and obsession with being healthy, so I have to take it easy.

Of course, there’s the well-known May @ Oh May… – food, fitness, cooking, healthy lifestyle

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Now for a great weekend breakfast! I adapted the recipe from Caitlin.

Sweet Potato Oatcake

3/4 cup oats (rolled or instant)
2 Tbsp. milk (nut or raw cow’s)
1/4 cup baked sweet potato*, mashed
1 egg
2 Tbsp. pecans or walnuts, after crushing
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. turmeric (optional, it made mine an otherworldly bright yellow)
toppings: fresh berries and syrup (1 tsp. coconut oil + 1 Tbsp. maple syrup)

1. Grease and heat griddle or skillet.
2. Mix all ingredients (except toppings) together in a small bowl.
3. [This might be messy.] Transfer to pan and pat it into a round shape (or whatever shape you wish).
3. Cook on medium-low  and flip when golden-brown. If necessary, tip it onto a plate, and then back into the pan.
4. Serve with syrup, fresh fruit, or whatever toppings you like!

*to fake-bake the sweet potato: scrub, stab a couple times with a fork, wrap in a paper towel, and microwave for 6 minutes

Yields 1 serving (easily scalable)

I don’t post enough recipes on my blog! It’s not that I’m not always cooking or trying new things; I either forget to take pictures (like for this) or I don’t make the recipe original enough to re-post it.

Have a great day!